Chile: Information on the redress available to Chilean women who are raped, and on reports of three police officers raping a woman in Valparaiso in February 1996

Information on the rape of a woman in Valparaiso by three police officers in February 1996 could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. However, various sources consulted referred to a case involving the rape of a 14-year old girl by three police officers in Valparaiso in October 1995.

A representative at the Casa de la Mujer (Woman's House) in Valparaiso, a non-governmental organization that, among other things, assists women who are victims of sexual violence, provided the information that follows during an 18 March 1997 telephone interview.

The only known case of rape involving three police officers in Valparaiso took place around 5 a.m. on Sunday, 29 October 1995. A 14-year old girl was apparently raped inside a police van (furgon). There is no public knowledge of a case of rape involving three police officers in Valparaiso in February 1996.

A female Carabineros officer, chief of the unit responsible for handling sexual crimes at the Valparaiso police sub-station for family matters (sub-comisaria de asuntos de la familia), provided the information that follows during an 18 March 1997 telephone interview.

There was no case of rape involving three police officers in Valparaiso in February 1996. A rape case involving three police officers in Valparaiso took place in October 1995. The case also involved a 14-year old girl. The three officers were discharged from the Carabineros police force and handed over to the justice system.

The chief of the sexual crimes brigade (Brigada de delitos sexuales) of the Investigations (Investigaciones) police force in Valparaiso stated during an 18 March 1997 telephone interview that the brigade has no knowledge of a rape case involving three police officers in February 1996. A rape case involving three police officers in Valparaiso took place in October 1995. The sexual crimes brigade completed an investigative report and handed it to the military attorney's office (fiscalia militar) of Valparaiso, which prosecuted the three officers. The Investigations police cannot comment on the actual judicial process.

A lawyer at the military attorney's office in Valparaiso stated during a 21 March 1997 telephone interview that the three officers charged with raping a minor in October 1995 were tried by his office. However, the office cannot provide any details of the trial over the telephone.

A lawyer working at a legal aid clinic (consultorio juridico) in Valparaiso provided the information that follows during a 19 March telephone interview.

There are three types of criminal offence (delitos) as regards legal action in Chile: public action offences (delitos de accion publica), the investigation and process of which will be initiated after the crime or offence has been reported to the authorities; private action offences (delitos de accion privada) require the affected party to initiate the investigation and participate in the subsequent judicial process; and mixed action offences (delitos de accion mixta), in which an affected party reports the criminal offence, and the police and courts will carry out the investigation and judicial process regardless of any subsequent action or inaction by the affected party beyond the initial report. Rapes are a mixed action offence.

A victim of rape or a legal representative (including a parent or guardian, in the case of a minor) can report the crime to the police and/or press charges before a court. In all cases the investigation and legal process are followed even if the victim decides to avoid involvement afterwards. The case will be viewed by a judge, who has the discretion to assign the investigation of the crime to one or both of the two police forces (Investigaciones and Carabineros).

In a crime involving officers of one police force, a judge will usually assign the investigation to the other police force, as the existing competition between forces usually guarantees a degree of thoroughness which the public might not expect from an investigation if it were carried out by colleagues of those indicted. A judge can also provide some direction to an investigation. Therefore, the results of an investigation can depend to a certain extent on the individual judge overseeing a case.

Other elements that can contribute to the prosecution of a rapist are the victim' s disposition or assistance throughout the investigation and/or the trial, and the availability of evidence. Although rape investigations do not require the cooperation of the victim, in practice the victim's cooperation is almost always a requisite for successful prosecution.

Finally, the source stated that police agents and officers in Chile have been prosecuted and punished for various crimes, including sexual ones. However, the source was unsure during the telephone interview of the specific punishment imposed on the three police officers involved in the October 1995 rape of a minor in Valparaiso.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Carabineros Sub-station for family matters, Valparaiso. 18 March 1997. Telephone interview with chief of sexual crimes unit.

Casa de la Mujer, Valparaiso. 18 March 1997. Telephone interview with representative.

Consultorio Juridico de Valparaiso, Valparaiso. 19 March 1997. Telephone interview with lawyer.

Investigation Police, Sexual Crimes Brigade, Valparaiso. 18 March 1997. Telephone interview with brigade chief.

Military attorney's office, Valparaiso. 21 March 1997. Telephone interview with lawyer.